Flickriver

Friday, February 07, 2014

I can't say this is something I've always aspired to do. I DID take an online course in HTML about 10 years ago - just prior to going to Europe for 7 weeks - and then got into other things. Needless to say, the rule of "Use it or lose it!" prevailed, and so that was the end of my idea of creating my own website.

But time passes and technology changes (some good/some bad!), and now there are MANY website design services and servers that make the execution much easier for those of us who don't know HTML or don't want to learn it.

I guess in the back of my mind I've always wanted to have my own website, but never felt I could nor did I want to pay someone to do it for me. Several months ago, I stumbled upon Weebly and based on recommendations and the simplicity of other's websites, I thought I'd give it a try. As a voracious web user going back almost to its beginnings, I felt I had this intuitive sense of what works and what doesn't. Too many websites get bogged down in verbiage or are difficult to navigate efficiently or look uninviting, overloaded with content and images. Those sites bore me very quickly (thank you, elderly ADD!) I would just as quickly leave and move on to others that immediately grabbed my attention. Closer scrutiny determined that the best designs incorporate visually pleasing colors, easy to read fonts and text, beautifully edited images, and most importantly…intuitive navigation. THAT is what I'm always aiming for.

An opportunity arose to take over the web site management for the local co-op gallery to which I belong, Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts. Knowing it would be a major challenge for me, but also a terrific learning opportunity, I volunteered to do it. I KNEW it needed to be moved from its previous ISP, and so there was the issue of transitioning the domain, working with both the previous support people (thank you, Verio!) and with the Weebly support staff. I DID IT! and the site has a whole new look. Hope you'll like it and perhaps leave a comment on the Contact Page.

In looking just now at the list of issues, concerns, and many questions I posed to Weebly, I realize that the project was/is well underway and viable in about 10 days. Having an ice storm and being three days housebound allowed me the time to focus on this project, and I am pleased and quite proud actually to announce that the Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts website is renewed, refreshed, refurbished, and reality! You can find it here! Please keep in mind that it's always a work in progress. You will find images of our gallery, our mission as a cooperative 3-D gallery, blurbs about each of our artists, and photos of our work. Those images will change periodically.

Weebly makes it easy to make changes, add images, create slideshows, galleries, links within and outside the site, and so much more! I had created my own website months ago using Weebly, but now I know SO MUCH MORE, so redoing my own website is next in line. It already has an entirely new look, and I invite you to follow its progress. Here's a preview!

If you have it in YOUR mind to build a website or redesign one, I highly recommend looking into Weebly.